Cahokia was truly massive for its time — around 20,000 people at its core, swelling to over 50,000 including satellite towns. No later Mississippian city ever matched that scale, though dozens reached 5,000–10,000. Functioning as a network of independent city-states, this civilization persisted for centuries after Cahokia's mysterious decline around 1150 CE, until epidemic disease and conquest devastated its people post-contact.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site as Mississippian metropolis abandoned around 1150 CE
USAGeneral
Key facts
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site had a population of approximately 20,000 people, rising to over 50,000 when satellite towns are included
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site was abandoned by around 1150 CE but started a civilization that expanded across the US for centuries
- No subsequent Mississippian city matched Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site's size, though dozens reached 5,000–10,000 people
- Mississippian society functioned as a network of independent city-states, each with a capital and surrounding rural territory
- Mississippian populations were largely wiped out by epidemic diseases and military conquest following European contact
Site mentioned
Sources
Cahokia - Illinois State Archaeological Surveyisas.illinois.edu
At its peak, the core urban population is estimated to be about 20,000 people concentrated in a 6 square mile area, with a regional population greater than 50, ...
Cahokia Mounds | History, Location, Age, Map, Illinois, & Facts | Britannicabritannica.com
Cahokia reached its peak between 950 and 1350 CE, with a population of possibly 20,000 individuals, though some estimates reach 40,000. Cahokia was the most ...
Cahokia: A Pre-Columbian American Citygilderlehrman.org
By 1200, the population of the city had probably fallen to less than 5,000 people; by 1250, that figure was probably no more than 2,000. In the countryside, ...
AD 650–1400: Family farms feed a metropolis at Cahokianlm.nih.gov
At Cahokia, from 20,000 to 30,000 people of the Mississippian mound-building culture live in a 5-square-mile area east of what is now called St. Louis, ...
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site: World Heritage Site (U.S. National ...nps.gov
Population estimates for Cahokia proper range from 10-20,000, which was equivalent to the population of many European cities at that time.
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